I personally think they lost their USP years ago I remember going to the one Hertford at lunchtime in the 80s and buying something different for dinner. They just seem overpriced offering same products as all other supermarkets. In fact some are worse quality.

It won't be closed Sizzla - and I agree with you I do think it is very messy at the entrance, and they do like to put on a few pence here and there on thingsthat can be bought elsewhere cheaper. BUT, they do stock a lot of up-to-the-minute items beloved of the TV Cooks. This draws in customers whomight otherwise go Tesco's or where ever.. I think it used to be called "the Delia Smith" syndrome. They seem to be doing very nicely here in Ampthill if the car parking outside the Store is anything to go by. The Bedford store however is a no no. Too close to Tesco's, and I feel, internally, not well designed for theshopper. To many nooks and crannys, makes shopping time-consuming just trying find what you want.

I see the one in Camden they are selling to Aldi, so I assume then anything can happen.

sizzla wrote:I think the Ampthill branch is a particularly bad example. Staff are nice, but stock is poor, and it's a bit scruffy especially with all that junk around the entrance.

I wonder how the town would cope if it closed?

Yes they do have a problem, are the others any better? I don't think I have been in another branch for years to know any different, the car park chaos alone is enough to put you off going. How skilled architects/designers got it so wrong I don't know.

If it was sold to another supermarket and they improved the store and the car park - just moving the entrance to the other end could make the difference. Maybe Ampthill would be fine or who knows better? I guess if it went completely there would be a problem.

I have not visited the mk or the Bedford one. Did used to frequent the old one when it was in the centre. The staff did seem to know where stock etc was there unlike Ampthill, but was very tired at the end.

I wonder if they will change all the parking signs again - having only done it last year. Strange that in commerce that they will spend so much on that kind of thing, I can;t see that it will make me shop there more or less, it would be product, service and prices that I would look at.

It's all a mystery to me. Hard to believe there were so many headlines recently about Tesco launches Jack's, a brand that offers less choice and lower quality products than a normal Tesco. Presumably they know what they're doing, but you have to wonder why people are taken in by this nonsense.

I know I have said this in the past but I worked in the Ampthill Waitrose for four years and believe me when I say that the title of "Partner" is absolutely meaningless. There is a myth that if you work for the John Lewis group then you also own part of the company - absolute codswallop ! I did not have any say or was asked an opinion on how the business should run and when I left there were no share options to take. I often asked my managers what the title of partner meant and not one of them could actually give me a credible answer, so to have spent an absolute fortune on rebranding by adding "and partners" just shows that they are getting desperate and if they believe that business will boom because of the "and partners" update then they are deluding themselves.

The trouble with the Waitrose in Ampthill it's gone downhill. They have tried to compete with the other supermarkets because they have found thatcustomers usually walk with their feet if they find the goods too expensive. In doing so they seem to have fallen off completely. Perhaps they realise thatthis is only a Market Town and we (on the whole) are not prepared to pay inflated prices. Whenever I go in there I always come away knowing that I havepaid for the privilege, so to speak. Not good!! But I have to say, Tesco's down in Flitwick are not doing so good either. Their stock range has been much reducedand it seems that once the stock has gone from the shelves for the day no attempt is made to replenish it. Stock is high and sell it cheap no longer applies to Tesco's. Perhaps this is where "Jacks" comes in.

mickmc wrote:I know I have said this in the past but I worked in the Ampthill Waitrose for four years and believe me when I say that the title of "Partner" is absolutely meaningless. There is a myth that if you work for the John Lewis group then you also own part of the company - absolute codswallop ! I did not have any say or was asked an opinion on how the business should run and when I left there were no share options to take. I often asked my managers what the title of partner meant and not one of them could actually give me a credible answer, so to have spent an absolute fortune on rebranding by adding "and partners" just shows that they are getting desperate and if they believe that business will boom because of the "and partners" update then they are deluding themselves.

I actually said to other half - I wonder if the partners thought it was a good idea to spend (I am sure it was millions) on rebranding. I would have loved to be in the meeting where they all went round the table to think up a new name....it is hard to believe that grown up people came up with the idea of adding 'and partners'

sizzla wrote:It's all a mystery to me. Hard to believe there were so many headlines recently about Tesco launches Jack's, a brand that offers less choice and lower quality products than a normal Tesco. Presumably they know what they're doing, but you have to wonder why people are taken in by this nonsense.

yep don't understand that either, but I guess that they think Aldi and Lidl are doing so well. I have always said that the Kingston (and those size shops) are far too big, Kingston just frightens me that I won't be back out for a least an hour! And there is far too much choice.

years ago I worked in a pub and I remember the landlord stocked 3 flavours of crisps - he said he found having more just got the customers dithering, he held too much stock. He reckoned people would have one of the three flavours if that was the choice...i am sure he was right.